On Saturday and Sunday, the 15th annual Michiana Pottery Tour made its way to downtown Goshen as one of 10 different locations.

Thewas stop number four on the tour and welcomed six local artists and their exhibitions throughout both days: Eric Kaufmann ’96, Seth Krabill ’14, Fred Driver, Kristen O’Dell, Barb Johnson and Aaliah Higareda ’24. 

Many different styles of pottery were available for purchase, showcasing a wide variety of techniques. This included pottery with Japanese influences, both sculptural and functional pottery and a variety of glazing techniques. 

Higareda says her childhood memories are a key foundation for her current work with sock monkeys. 

She also highlighted the importance of sketching, drawing forms and enduring the trial-and-error process in developing her work.

At the center of the space was Krabill’s table, displaying a variety of pieces, predominantly textured mugs and pots with depth of color in their glaze. Krabill is a functional potter and high school pottery teacher.  

“On the outside of the pot is essentially a layer of glass, and I really like colors that are a lot more drippy and melty. A flat green to me is not nearly as interesting as when you can see some blues and yellows and whites kinda shining through the green as well,” he said.

Johnson, an Artist Guild member and functional ceramic artist, featured a variety of handmade pieces in her exhibition, including rice bowls, kettles, mugs and plates. The pieces ranged in color from white to shades of blue and green and were inspired by European art.

“I worked with an Italian professor and a woman from Austria at The Catholic University [of America] in Washington, D.C., who were high-end kind of people. They were my real mentors,” she said.

Along with being a local potter, teacher and kiln analyst, Kaufmann was also part of the organizing process. He highlighted the importance of having community support when coordinating events like this.

“There’s a lot of collective advertising with the Michiana Pottery Tour, I think [it] gets a lot of the artists re-registering every year, because that is super helpful to bring people into the region,” he said. 

Because of the number of visitors, Krabill describes the display of his work as a “vulnerable” time. 

“I mean, people are seeing your work. It kinda feels like you’re putting yourself out there, but we’re always received really well. People are very nice, they’re very appreciative of our work,” he said. 

Kaufmann echoed the feeling and related it to his time as a student at GC. 

“I was nervous about doing my senior show at Goshen College, but now I’ve gotten used to having my artwork out there, and I’m more comfortable talking about it. I’ve kinda grown into that,” Kaufmann said.

The event is hosted annually at different locations across the Michiana region. Dates for next year’s tour are not yet available.

With reporting by Keegan Wyse